In a revelation that has sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka’s political and law enforcement circles, former Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles disclosed on November 4, 2023, that notorious underworld figure and international drug trafficker Nadun Chinthaka widely known as Harak Kata attempted to offer him a staggering bribe of Rs. 700 million.
According to Alles, this brazen offer was made nearly a year and a half ago during his tenure as minister. The request? That Harak Kata, following his arrest overseas, be spared extradition to Sri Lanka and instead be deported to Dubai. The former minister emphasized that he immediately informed the then-President about this attempted bribery.
But in a stunning twist, Harak Kata has fired back with explosive counterclaims. Speaking to the media outside court just yesterday, the underworld kingpin alleged that it was Tiran Alles and Senior DIG Deshabandhu Tennakoon who demanded a Rs. 300 million bribe from him instead.
Currently held under High Court orders at Tangalle Prison a facility far from the maximum security conditions one might expect Harak Kata was seen yesterday nonchalantly rolling down the window of the prison transport vehicle and delivering his statements to waiting reporters from the courthouse steps, as if free from the gravity of his criminal profile.
These dueling bribery accusations come over 18 months after the original events reportedly took place. They paint a disturbing picture of deep entanglements between organized crime and those once seated in the nation’s highest corridors of power.
The original statement by Tiran Alles was made in front of senior police officials from the Southern Province during his time in office a moment that now echoes loudly across an already scandal-weary public.
